Indicator device for visible pumps



Jan. 8, 1935. L, E, RUSH 1,987,579

' INDICATOR DEVICE FOR VISIBLE PUMPS Filed Aug. 11. 1933 INVENTOR. LE0 E. FuJH,

ATTORNEY5.

Patented Jan. 8, 1935 1 1 INDICATOR DE Leo E.:Rush

La iFayette, ,Ind.,- assignor .toM. I). I Joyce -La Fayette, Ind.

is Appliwfim 1 3; rialnajsswsfl l, v 11 C -1w (o1.'116,-.1'1s

This invention relates to an indicator device forvisible dispensing pumps.

r The chief object o t nve t n i q' e de an indicator device which is of unitary charac- ;5 ter and which is adapted for mounting upon the overflow tube orgstandpipethat is usually centrally positioned within the glass, cylinder of a visible dispensing pump suitable for the dispensing or sale of gasoline qr the;like. I

I One object of the invention isto providea device which is rotatable, when desired, within said glass cylinder, so that the entire interior surface of the glass cylinder may be cleaned'withoiitl removing the indicator device from-the cylinder and thereby eliminate: the possibilityof'fsubsequent erroneous measurement due to poor visibility of the target, or indicator. Heretofore indicating devices usually have been rigidly associated with visible pumps of this character. The interior of the cylinder usually was not cleaned by the attendant in the vicinity of the indicators, because the indicators vwere not removed, 'or if removed there was always present the danger of the indicating device for indicators, being repositioned in erroneous position or ifflthe .interior'surface of the cylinder were cleaned the vicinity of the indicators, such cleaning" frequently sub-.- jected the indicators to movement with respect to the support so that a true naiea uonwas notebtainable thereafter, or if cleaning in the, Vicinity of \the indicators were too laborious, the interior of the bowl immediately in front of the indicators did notreceive the. cleaning which it should have received and thereby the visibility of the indica; tors was progressivelydiminished although'full visibility of the indicators was one Icffthe primary purposes for the cleaning ofthebowlj a The second object "of the invention .is .to pro- :vide a permanent installation which, when once positioned in'the cylinden'or bowl, as itis commonly called, may 1. remain .theie indefinitely and yet permitcleaning of the bowl' throughout the entire interior. surfacejwithout the necessity ofremo'ving the indicating" device unit or subjecting the same tothepossibility of distortion inthe-cleaning operation. r

.- The chief feature of theinventi'on consists in the accomplishment of the aforesaid objects.

Another feature ,of:the invention consists in, when desired, the provision of means'f'or nor;- mally retaining the indicating device unit in a predetermined selected;position, which position may be readily changed and the device retained ni h n ed s on.-

T l lnatu ,Q l i fnv xtiq wi lbe i derstood from the accompanying, drawing and the following specification and--claims:-'' v j In; the drawing, Fig. 11.is a"central "sectional view through the visible bowl portion of "a conventio'nal representation of a glass bowl; or cylinder .ofa' dispensing pump with the indicator device unitshown inelevat'ionQ {Fig.j 2 is jan-enlarged bottom plan lower spider of 'theunit. T .i

Fig. 3 isanemargedtransverse,sectional view of .a" portion of the" upper spider and its association with the" overflow tube of the dispensing puinp,'fand illustrates jingdetail one form of adjustable support'fo'r .the un' itjandfone form of selectivellocking device; v In the drawing,,,10 indicatesthej'conventional bowlb'a se of a'liq'u'id dispensing pump which" is of the v-isible' type and thelcharnber 11 thereofis formed by. a glass cy'linderjlZ, commonly called the 'bcwl. '."Th'e;;top of the cylinder is closed by thl rihg 13 which supports a cover '14; 'It is hereinshown of detachable type 'butinay be of the hinged type sdthat. access may be wreadily had to the interiorlof the bowl. The base 10. also supports the centrally positioned overflow tube l 5 which includes a 'cap" 1'6', and .therebeneath a mouth 17 having the lower most draining level 18. All ,of the, aforesaid is a conventionalillus tr'ation'i and description of "the I upper and visible portion of a so-"called visible dispensing pump. The invention consists/in providing an'indicator devicefthat is of unitary charajcter and may be readily associated with the aforesaid standpipe or overflow. 'The operation of the visible pump is wellknown but may be brieflystated as follows: I, The dispensing attendant may either manuallyor through power means fill the bowl until view" "or the FAT NT j the liquid thereinfoverflow's through the mouth 17 and then'the supplyis discontinued. The liquid will"drainv out 'of'the bowl until the top level 3 thereof coincides with the lower edge "18 vof the mouth 17.. Then theattendant opens the valve onlthfe' h'o'se, not shown, and supplied from discharge 19'. holdssaidivalve controlling the dis chargeop'e'n until'the liquid level falls to thedesired elevation, coinciding with the amount purchased, asrepresented by the different levels in-;

accumulates a scum, or the like, which interferes with the visibility and also is liable to convey to the purchaser the idea that the gasoline has a color which it does not actually have. Therefore, the cleaning of the interior of such a bowl is highly desirable. Heretofore, with the rigid support and permanently attached indicator devices,

there was introduced the possibility of deformation of the respectiye indicators, for the erroneous repositioning of the sam'e, if the entire indicator device were removed and replaced after bow cleaning.

The present invention contemplates the conis divergingly directed a plurality of arms 21 each terminating in a socket or opening 22. The-afore 7 are theindicator suStainingY TQdS 26-;

These indicator devices are hown' in' front elevation and also in partial end elevation; Tl 1 ey' are rigidlyand relatively permanently secured'to the rods. "I'hefwhole' structure, thereforeycon sists'of a cage comprising an upper and'ilower spider and a plurality of connecting indicator supporting preferably. three or fo ur'in number." Herein but three are illustrated. 'i j The collar portions andj '23 are telescopically mounted upon, the .overflowjtube 15 and: are sult thereof, normally would have free swiveling action aboutv the axis of theoverflow tubefso, that the"indicator devicea'sja' unit fmay shifted angularly on saidtube to." permit full cleaning of the interior surface' oi the bowl without theatt'endant and/or the cleaning implement, usnally a rag or. the liRaTengaging any one of t the in} dicatorsi,"

e aforesaid constitutes the simplest" form of the invention.jlf 'desired; an additional means may bepr'ovided.forlaccfiately positioning the indicator softhat theupperm'ost indicators will all. have their specificjlevelfindicating 'p'or tions coinciding with the levelvl8 ,of the/mouth of the overflow pipe. Hereinthe uppermost' indicator indicates saidlevel.

Hereina conventional'form' of support is shown in Fig. 3 and thefsamejincludes' a flange plate structure having. the flangejportion 27'and the collar portion 28, said structure being split'as; at 29 and being provided adjacent the split and at the collar portion28 with a pair of cars 30 and '31,,the former'be'ing threaded as at 32'and the lattei beingapertured aS atBS'. .gA'clampingbolt has; a portion of'the body-of (the b6ltjextend in'gnthrough the aperture 33' anathe ena has threaded engagement.withthefthrea'ded opening 32.. With this .typegcrconstruction, thereforeiit is. possible to cl'ainpingly. mount the flange collar 27..2'8 omn' oVerflQW standpipe some distance below the mouth 1'7, andthis collar willbeclamped dicatingportionoi theup im i dicatorswill indicate; exactly the level. 1.81 crane ove flow pi mouth. ,7 j o If and when desired, additional'means'may'be in such position on the pipe so that' theflevel illfprovided which is adapted to readily retain the indicator cage in the angular adjusted position so that maximum visibility to the purchaser is assured. Herein a conventional form of locking device is illustrated and may be briefly described as follows:-

The flange 27 is provided with a plurality of apertures or recesses. Herein apertures are illustrated. They are indicated by the numeral 35. One arm 24-01 the uppensplder construction mounts a pivot pin 36, the opposite projecting ends of which are associated with the bifurcations 37 of a locking mechanism having a depending struction of an indicator dev'ie as aun'itary arrangement, and which is mountedto'swi'velonjthe or "lockingbolt portion 38 and an upstanding finger engageableportion 39. The collar portion 1 e i 23--is.apertured as at 40 and the portion 38 is In the drawing 20 indicates acollarfrom which adapted for reciprocation in said aperture 40 so th'atthe' end of the locking bolt portion 38 may seat niche. of the recesses selected. A spring for retaining the locking mechanism in looking position-may be provided. However, as herein illustrated, the weight of the same is such that it will normally tend to retain thelocking bolt portion 38 the 'locking position;

Whenit is desired to free the cage for swiveling or positioningin another positon for cleaningthef interior of the bowl or otherwise, the finger portion 39-is engaged and the bolt portion 33 is retracted from the-recess 35 and the cage is-then free to swivel; This lever mechanism associated with the lock'bolt may be so arranged that when the locking'lever has been manually tilted intothe unlocked position, it willinornially: be retained therein by gravity in said position; in other words, this mechanism may be soconstrueted that no springs are necessary and that the bolt will be self maintained by. reason of gravity ineither its looking or unlocked position. The locking mechanism may be applied" tothe lower spider but preferably it is associated with the upper spider, since it is more accessibleflin'that position. It' is, of course, understood that thecove'r 14 is either detachably or hingedly' associated with the ring 13 in any conventional manner, such as is commonly found invisible dispensing; pumpsof this character now available. ,v

""',N0" claim is made for the-specific form of indicator nor as'before mentioned, the positioning of a series of indicators upon a common support mounted within the bowl of av visible pump nor a composite indicator device that is detachable and removable from and/or rotatable within the ivisible bowl'. o

The-invention claimed is:'1

Ina. visible pump having an upstanding member within the. visible bowl thereof, an indicator device unit'including atop structure, a bottom structure, elongated elements connected at opposite ends to both structures -and indicators'rigi'dly secured in spaced relation to certain of said elements,- said' unit having pivotal movement upon theupstandingmember and supported thereby.

' 2. In a visible pump having an upstanding overflow pipe within the" visible bowl, thereof, an indicator. device of cage formation pivotally mounted upon the pipe for'arcuate movement and including a set" of. indicators in spaced-relation. '1 j 3; Infa visible pump having an upstanding :overflowpipe withinthe visiblebowl thereof, the "combination ofan indicator' device of cage formation, means pivotally mounting said device upon-the'pipe for arcuat'e'movement, said device including a set of indicators in spaced relation, and means for securing said cage in predetermined position upon said pipe.

4. In a visible pump having an upstanding overflow pipe within the visible bowl thereof, the combination of an indicator device of cage formation, means pivotally mounting said device upon the pipe for arcuate movement, said device including a set of indicators in spaced relation, and means for securing said cage in predetermined rotative position upon said pipe, said first mentioned means including an axially adjustable member mounted upon said pipe.

5. In a visible pump having an upstanding overflow pipe within the visible bowl thereof, the combination of an indicator device of cage formation, means pivotally mounting said device upon the pipe for arcuate movement, said device including a set of indicators in spaced relation, and means for securing said cage in predetermined elevated position upon said pipe, said first mentioned means including a locking device for securing the cage upon the pipe in angularly adjusted position.

6. In a visible pump having an upstanding overflow pipe within the visible bowl thereof, the combination of an indicator device of cage formation, means pivotally mounting said device upon the pipe for arcuate movement, said device including a set of indicators in spaced relation, and means for securing said cage in predetermined position upon said pipe, said means including an axially adjustable member mounted upon said pipe for cage elevation positioning and a locking device for securing the cage upon the pipe in rotative adjusted position.

7. In a visible pump having an upstanding overflow pipe within the visible bowl thereof, the combination of an indicator device of cage formation, means pivotally mounting said device upon the pipe for arcuate movement, said device including a set of indicators in spaced relation, and means for securing said cage in predetermined elevated position upon said pipe, said second mentioned means including an axially adjustable member mounted upon said pipe, said first mentioned means including a locking device for securing the cage in angularly adjusted position, said locking device and said axially ad justable member having a cooperative relation therebetween.

8. In a visible pump having a visible bowl, an upstanding member therein and a cover for the bowl movable into non-covering position to expose the bowl ,interior, the combination of a plurality of indicators, and means supporting said indicators in spaced relation and pivotally mounted upon said upstanding member for the purpose set forth.

9. In a visible pump having a visible bowl, an upstanding member therein and a cover for the bowl movable into non-covering position to expose the bowl interior, the combination of a plurality of indicators, means supporting said indicators in spaced relation and pivotally associated with said upstanding member for the purpose set forth, and other means associated with the last mentioned means for securing said first mentioned means in predetermined angularly adjusted position.

10. An indicator cage construction comprising a bottom spider, a top spider the arms of which are directed upwardly and outwardly, the arms of both spiders being in radial registration, elongated members connecting the ends of the registering arms, and indicators secured in spaced relation to a plurality of said members.

11. An indicator cage construction comprising a bottom spider, a-top spider the arms of which are directed upwardly and outwardly, the arms of both spiders being in radial registration, elongated members connecting the ends of the registering arms, indicators secured in spaced relation to one of said members, and a locking member carried by the upper spider.

- LEO E. RUSH. I 

